What a diabolic plot to scam us! I usually mentally add my purchases and when I get to checkout I pretty much know what the total should be. Now I'm going to go through my stack of receipts (I save them all until tax day) and see if anything shows up that surprises me. Thanks for the heads up.

It's so easy to do. This happened to me at a bank which I no longer will ever use. I deposited an even 100 dollar check. Was a busy day and the gal at the auto teller didn't send me copy of 'their' receipt, so I drove off not realizing it would matter. Never had a problem before. Well, the 100 never showed up in my account. The gal pocketed it and never made the deposit. I had quite a go round with the bank manager who finally agreed they 'suspected' this gal of theft, but couldn't prove it so they fired her. I NEVER got back my hundred, even after I got copies of the check I deposited from the other party's bank. Each time, the copy came back so badly smeared you couldn't read the stamp on the back. Turned out it was a 'sister' bank of the one I used. Talk about coverup! I was advised by a fraud expert to never do things in EVEN amounts. Always use dollars and some cents if you can to make it more confusing for the 'thief' to carry out their plans.

Also watch for cashiers who 'forget' to give you your change. Happened twice in the last month. Usually a new person and usually a total mistake but then they can pocket that too if you aren't watching.

The article I read about the 20 cent added on applied to debit cards only and was added by the retailers to cover the fees they have to pay. If I remember the article correctly, they were not allowed to add a fee to credit card purchases because the credit card companies didn't allow it but nothing prevented them from adding the fee for debit cards.

All of that was a few years ago and I think prior to the major legislation that went through Congress on credit card interest rates and fees. That may have affected debit cards too.

While it's possible that the cashier was doing this I suspect it is less likely than the store itself doing it.

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BobI've learned that if you're too busy to help a friend, you're too busy.

I thought Chief was talking about the cashier adding 20 dollars to it. When you use a debit card it asks if you want cash back and you can do it from the keypad or the cashier can add it on the register.

Wow! I think I would notice twenty dollars added. I usually do the same as Sorta Blonde so I know within a dollar or so what the total should be but I confess I have gotten lazy lately and don't always keep track. I guess it's back to the mental arithmetic. Hey, it helps keep you sharp too.

Edited by BobH (10/29/1206:58 PM)

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BobI've learned that if you're too busy to help a friend, you're too busy.